History of a Lola T492 Sports 2000 chassis?

[911thillclimber]

Sunday, and the Championship day.
I really needed to get some points advantage over the TVR, so felt a bit daunted when he showed up today with fatter wheels and tyres!

First practive was not good. My seat belt slackend just under the Bridge at 76 mph which was disconcerting and slid all over the seat, so eased off, a miserable 48 sec run.
Second practice was far more focused and i was stunned to cut the PB yet again, down to 44.98.
Car was utterly planted.

Race run #1 and serious stuff now, and cut my PB again down to 44.53 leaving the TVR way behind, but the EVOMini was of course first.

Second race run, and I just had to beat the TVR, but not fall off either, so was a bit easier on the track, back to a low 45 but still faster.

Feeling smug, I even went to the Prize giving and took a glass home.

Thus I have netted a 4 point lead today to add to the tally.

What a dramatic day, car was ballistic and even the pilot was on form.

Shelsley Walsh next in 3 weeks time

[MGDavid]

Very well done Graham; days like that make it all worthwhile :-)

[911thillclimber]

They most certainly do!

The engine work certainly paid dividends yesterday.

Here is a clip of the class from yesterday's YouTube live stream:

https://youtu.be/h--LFktL_Ag?t=11753

[Mike Harte]

I watched the 2nd runs live yesterday, and you and car seemed to both be in tune. A joy to watch.

Not long after you went through, a weekend to forget for the Commodore driver losing it coming out of the chicane.

[911thillclimber]

Thanks!
Yes, that is a BIG car to hustle through Prescott, and very easy to get loose after the Pardon hairpin which is far tighter (and quicker) than it looks....

[911thillclimber]

Shelsley Walsh entry list issued...
As ever, the Big Guns are all attending plus a legend of the sport, Nick Mann.

I just might make 4th in class if all goes well, but my only aim is to be quicker than the TVR, though he is very close to me at previous Shelsleys.

I'm in the least powerful car in the 9 car class and weight wise about 5th lightest, so in with a good chance.

Might not be on live stream, i think Shelsley do not favour using it!

[911thillclimber]

Shelsley at 36 deg C is a very stuff place to b, but same for everyone.

I really do not like the heat, never have, so getting into overalls and helmet/gloves etc was left to the very last moment, anything to minimise heat-up!

2 practice runs today, practice and 2 race runs tomorrow. My runs were very disappointing, and if we finish tomorrow as today, I am in real trouble for the Class win in the Championship overall.

As ever this year the TVR is my problem, and as i suspected he is getting better every time!

Today I bagged 33.13 and 32.87, both starts were 2.1 and over 100 mph over the fnishing line.
PB is 31.58, so WAY off.

TVR was 32.39 and 31.82.

The other class runners all seemed to revel in the heat...

If today is a picture for tomorrow, then i will be point less and the TVR 6 points better.

This will reduce my lead from 13 points to 7 with 4 runs left in the year.

It is mine to loose.

Must try harder/braver/cooler tomorrow.

[S griffin]

It's been hot lately, but yesterday was something else. Glad you were able to survive out there. Hope it goes better today. There's got to be something more you can get out of the car. It doesn't help you have tough opposition who seem more suited to the heat. It does seem cooler today, so hopefully you can keep a good lead over the TVR.

You can do it!

[Mike_Powell]

Wishing you good runs and plenty of points from down south - now when are you going to visit Gurston ?

[911thillclimber]

Well....
Another stinking hot day at Shelsley, everyone everywhere was suffering. Plan for the day was 1 practice and 2 race runs. The day was cut short by the Organisers early afternoon and the second runs were all stopped, so just one points run today.
TBH I and several others were simply relieved to have the meeting cut short, all too much.
S, to the day and the TVR!

Practice was in my favor, a good 31.58, matching my PB(!) and a start of 2.1 secs.
The TVR ran a cheeky 31.88 and declared he was after a 30! Bit of Mind Games maybe?

At this time I was disregarding the rest of the class as none of them were in my Championship, but with 8 starters there was a danger of leaving with Zero points.

Race run was even hotter and the TVR was about 0.23 secs faster.

The Lola was 31.94/ 2.04 and the TVR 31.71 and he was 3rd in Class, me 4th.

From the rules, that meant a 1 point nett advantage to the TVR so reducing my 13 point lead down to 12.

FAR better than i thought yesterday, so happy enough.

A fluffed gear change advancing up the finish straight cost me the run.
I was ahead all the way up.

The heat just killed me, it always does.

The car was mustard, the Pilot a bit off-colour.

4 race runs left.

Prescott in 2 weeks and Loton at the end of September, both places i have been faster.
The numbers in the class diminish greatly at these two venues, so the scores can be a bit tricky to estimate, but my spanners are crossed.



The othere

[911thillclimber]

Have been sent a few pics by a friend of yesterday:

[S griffin]

Great shots, really shows what the weather was like

[911thillclimber]

Finals have just arrived for next weekend's Prescott, and things look tight!

5 drivers in the class and I've gone quicker than all but one this year, but the others have been getting noticeably quicker too, so the gap is very small.

Worst case is I come last, and the TVR comes 2nd on both runs, thus my cushion will dwindle to just 4 points going into Loton at the end of September.

Really need some good results at Prescott, hope it is dry.

[911thillclimber]

Saturday and practice. 5 in the class, but the TVR is arriving tomorrow, race day.
The car went well, not really using it, but P1 was 47.16/2.23 and P2 was 45.27/2.10

The mighty MiniEVO had a rook od engine probs which it still had as we left late afternoon, but he has qualified for tomorrow.

Sunday will be practice, Race 1 and Race 2.

It will be critical to the weather, and if it is raining/wet then I am possibly doomed.

The TVR has wets, I have not, so will go quicker.
At best I think the TVR will gain 4 points from me, eroding my lead in the class to 8 points going into Loton.

I expect the class to be the same as this weekend, so there is every chance I could loose the Championship Class win for 2022.

It will be telling how things work out in 24 hours time!

[911thillclimber]

What a day!
The rians never came, bit of light drizzle, but track was fine. The EVOMini had tech probs all day long and....

1st in class on both runs, TVR in 3rd and a PB on both runs!
Gasp...how did that happen?

Car was fabulous, really good and very sure footed, as ever thanks to Sean at McClurg Motorsport for the excellent set-up done nearly 9 years ago.

Race run #1 was 44.45
Race run # 2 was 44.15 and my new PB.

What a result, opposite to what i thought 24 hours ago.

This gives me a nett gain of 10 points over the TVR, so carring 22 points to Loton.

[MGDavid]

Days like that are the ones to cherish - congrats :-)

[E.B]

Well done Graham..... saw the final run on the live stream and saw your PB. A great run. Puts you in a great position for Loton and the finale.

The Lola sounded as sharp as ever.

[Tim Barry]

Graham

There is a post on Farcebark in the Historic Sports 2000 group from Dudley Mosely with photos of your car!

[911thillclimber]

Thank you for the kind words everyone, the results surprised quite a few, least of all me!
Tim, I've had a look on the 2000 web site but can't find anything, but I don't do facebook, simple forums are enough for me!

The Sports 2000 'lot' quickly christened me The Butcher when I bought/built the car and I was quietly sent to Coventry (actually where i was born!).

Notable exceptions were Peter Richardson and Mike Turner, both very supportive.

[Tim Barry]

Originally Posted by 911thillclimber

Thank you for the kind words everyone, the results surprised quite a few, least of all me!
Tim, I've had a look on the 2000 web site but can't find anything, but I don't do facebook, simple forums are enough for me!

The Sports 2000 'lot' quickly christened me The Butcher when I bought/built the car and I was quietly sent to Coventry (actually where i was born!).

Notable exceptions were Peter Richardson and Mike Turner, both very supportive.

Graham

It's on Facebook and not on their website but a lot of people have commented on the car. Mostly favourably!

[911thillclimber]

Thanks, that is why it is invisible to me like most things!!
I'll ask a friend to have a look..

[911thillclimber]

Just got the fb pics. I remember someone taking lots of pictures at lunch time.
The comments are all positive! Amazing.

[911thillclimber]

Have been sent this great shot at Prescott from last weekend.
Would make a great jigsaw!

[S griffin]

Originally Posted by 911thillclimber

Have been sent this great shot at Prescott from last weekend.
Would make a great jigsaw!

Yes, that is a great idea about the jigsaw!

[morninggents]

There is a company that does market jigsaws from photos. A couple of years back I googled images of Lotus Cortinas and up popped a picture of my car. When I opened it up it was actually a jigsaw which I purchased from the photographer. Sad, I know.